2018 has become a year of rapid ecommerce development. As more and more people around the world discover the merits of online purchase, an online shop becomes a must for not only large retailers like Amazon, iHerb and Asos, but for middle and small businesses as well. If you don’t already have an online store, it’s high time to launch one.
We wrote a lot of articles on various aspects of online shop creation, and for your convenience we gathered them all in one place in a short comprehensive guide. Here you can find advices and tips to the following topics:
What is Important to Know to Create a Webstore from Scratch
How to Choose the Best Platform for Your Ecommerce Business
How to Create a Perfect Homepage
Effective Ecommerce Product Page: Tips to Know
Checkout Page Optimization for Online Store
How to Create a Selling “About Us” Page
How to Create an Effective 404 Page in Ecommerce
Usability Analysis: Example of Website Audit
What is Important to Know to Create a Webstore from Scratch
So, where do you begin? First and foremost, you need to have a clear idea of what, to whom, where and why you’re selling. With that in mind, you can begin with thinking over concept and appearance of your future shop. This includes:
- homepage,
- search engine,
- catalogue and product pages,
- cart,
- check out,
- account.
Another integral part of your online shop is functionality. It consists of:
- Structure;
- Import / Export;
- Payment systems;
- Delivery;
- ERP system integration;
- Interaction with customers;
- Server choice and configuration;
- SEO optimization and promotion.
Read more at: https://belvg.com/blog/what-is-important-to-know-to-create-a-webstore-from-scratch.html.
How to Choose the Best Platform for Your Ecommerce Business
The choice of an ecommerce platform is a crucial step for the future well-being of your store. Therefore, it must be done with deep understanding of what functionality you need now and will be needing in the future. Which features should a mature ecommerce platform have? Off the top of your head you can name things like “Homepage”, “Catalogue” and “Payment system”, but in fact, there’s much more to expect from a genuinely good ecommerce solution. Here’s what a solid ecommerce functionality pack consists of:
- Product Content Management;
- Content Management System;
- Fulfillment and Order Management;
- Marketing, Merchandising, and User Experience;
- Search;
- Payments;
- Search Engine Optimization;
- Templates and Themes.
Read more at: https://belvg.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-best-platform-for-your-ecommerce-business.html.
How to Create a Perfect Homepage
It takes only 50 ms for a human brain to assess pictures and make judgement. That is why having a visually appealing homepage is so important. Here are 10 things to do to create your perfect homepage:
- Analyze your competitors
- Plan your layout
- Prepare the content
- Emphasise simplicity
- Know your audience
- Add calls to action
- Draw attention with dynamic content
- Make homepage mobile responsive
- Increase loading speed
- Conduct A/B tests
Read more at: https://belvg.com/blog/how-to-create-a-perfect-homepage.html.
Effective Ecommerce Product Page: Tips to Know
A perfect homepage is only an introduction, a doorstep to your shop; it creates impression, but it won’t convince a visitor to buy from you. It’s the products and how they are presented in your store that prompts a customer to purchase. Therefore, when you create a working product page, always include and carefully consider the following aspects:
- Product images;
- Detailed product description;
- Options;
- Customers reviews;
- Call to action;
- Social share buttons;
- SEO-friendly page.
Read more at: https://belvg.com/blog/effective-ecommerce-product-page-tips-to-know.html.
Checkout Page Optimization for Online Store
The statistics says that approximately 50% of customers abandon their shopping carts; if you think about it, this is half as little revenue for your online shop. Of course, sometimes a client doesn’t proceed to the checkout just because he has lost interest in the product, but in many cases the fault for shopping cart abandonment lies on the checkout page.
First of all, what might be wrong with the checkout page?
- surprise extra taxes
- necessary registration
- complicated and lengthy checkout process
- long delivery time
- no suitable payment method
So, what can you do in order to optimize the checkout page, minimize the level of abandonment and make it more user-friendly? Here’s the list of best practices:
- Free shipping
- Free shipping starting from a certain amount of money spent
- Account creation after the checkout process
- Login via social networks
- Guest checkout
- Multiple payment methods
- Simplicity
- Customer service and return policy
- “Continue shopping” button
Read more at: https://belvg.com/blog/checkout-page-optimization-for-online-store.html.
Magento Webdesign
Take your online store to the next level with BelVG Magento webdesign
Visit the pageHow to Create a Selling “About Us” Page
Have you ever been in the situation when your new acquaintance asks “Tell me about yourself” and you immediately start feeling tongue-tied and awkward? This is how many “About Us” corporate pages look like. But your case can be a different story. Here are the most effective tips for creating a useful and appealing “About Us” page.
- Share your history;
- Let your personality shine;
- Demonstrate your awards and reviews;
- Use different type of content;
- Regularly update the “About us” page;
- Focus on what you can do for your customers.
Read more at: https://belvg.com/blog/how-to-create-a-selling-about-us-page.html.
How to Create an Effective 404 Page in Ecommerce
I guess every person on the Internet have at least once in their life stumbled upon 404 page. 404, or “page not found” is a very common error, which appears when the link is broken or the URL address is incorrect. So no matter how well you keep an eye on your online store, some percentage of customers will still be redirected to it.
The default 404 pages bring only boredom and worry, and these are the negative emotions you don’t want to be associated with your store. Here are the ways to improve your “page not found” page and make this situation a little bit better.
- Explain the problem and ask for help;
- Provide a site map;
- Show your products;
- Use emotions;
- Make a joke;
- Add an animation;
- Share social networks.
Read more at: https://belvg.com/blog/how-to-create-an-effective-404-page-in-ecommerce.html.
Magento Webdesign
Take your online store to the next level with BelVG Magento webdesign
Visit the pageUsability Analysis: Example of Website Audit
It is recommended to regularly conduct usability analysis of your online shop. This measure serves to detect weaknesses of the website’s user interface and functionality, and without knowing them you won’t be able to effectively improve it.
A good comprehensive usability analysis includes:
- technical review,
- SEO analysis,
- interface usability,
- marketing analysis.
Let’s enumerate website elements you need to analyze:
- homepage,
- header,
- categories menu,
- articles menu,
- advantages block,
- recent posts block,
- “Compare Products” and “My Wishlist” blocks,
- product page.
Read more at: https://belvg.com/blog/usability-analysis-an-example-of-a-website-audit.html.
We hope this guide came of use to you. You can always find more information on any ecommerce topic in our blog. If you have questions, you’re welcome to leave them below in the comments.
Magento Development Services
Take your online store to the next level with BelVG Magento development
Visit the pageLooking for a reliable Magento custom development partner? Turn to BelVG!
Partner With Us
Looking for a partner to grow your business? We are the right company to bring your webstore to success.
Talk to Andrey
